Taken by Kris Nelson on February 21st, 2009
Location: Whale Day Parade down South Kihei Road, Kihei, Maui

March of the Whales

Yesterday was the 30th annual Whale Day celebration at Kalama Park in Kihei, and although we couldn’t be there again this year, a lot of my Maui Tweeps and a few new friends had another great #MauiTweetup.

For more details about the entire Maui Whale Festival, visit http://www.mauiwhalefestival.org, and for more details about the #MauiTweetup, head over to A Maui Blog or check out @AMauiBlog’s new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/amauiblog.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on Septmember 19th, 2009
Location: Honolua Bay near Kapalua, Maui

For this week’s Sunday Photo I wanted to share the latest panoramic image I’ve worked with from our trip last September. This one is from down by the water of Honolua Bay, and if haven’t seen the bay from this level, you really should make the trip down there.

For those you that might have seen Honolua Bay from the lookout point above, that boat there out on the water is the one you usually see from the top.  If you haven’t seen Honolua Bay at all, here’s a different view, too.

View Larger

I know it’s kind of hard to see all the details in the version above, so if you want to see more, check out the Large and Original views over on Flickr.

Aloha,
– Kris

Browse more Sunday Photos

Taken by Kris Nelson on September 18th, 2009.
Location: High Above D.T. Fleming Beach Park via helicopter

Right up the coast from last week’s photo, this one is of nearby D.T. Fleming Beach. As I go back through more of my photos from this aerial shoot during the Maui Photo Festival last year, I continue to countdown to this year’s workshops in August. Maybe we’ll see you there this time?

More Photos on Facebook

Over the summer, I shared a list of my favorite Maui themed Facebook pages, including the one I created for my other site, Maui by Photo.

Well, as my addiction to intrigue with photography has flourished in the past year, I ended up creating another Facebook page for my photography work.  Take a look at Kris Nelson Photography on Facebook if you’d like to see more of my favorite images. There are more than just Maui images there, but if you’re so inclined, feel free to become a fan and leave a note on my wall asking that Maui be shown front and center.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Browse more Sunday Photos.

Taken by Kris Nelson on September 18th, 2009.
Location: High Above Kapalua Beach via helicopter

Looking down at Kapalua Beach and the Ritz Carlton Kapalua Bay Residences to the left.

For a closer look of Kapalua Beach from the ground, check out this previous entry in the Sunday Photo series.

Taken by Kris Nelson on Friday, September 17, 2007
Location: D.T. Fleming Beach, Kapalua, Maui

A warm beach scene for those of us living in the deep freeze of winter on the mainland, dreaming of our next visit to Maui.

Taken by Kris Nelson on Monday, September 14th, 2009.
Location: Along Honoapiilani Highway in northwest Maui

This is a shot from our first day on Maui during our trip for the Maui Photo Festival back in September. It was one of the places along the end of Honoapiilani Hwy (just before the Kahekili Hwy starts) that we pulled over to enjoy the view.

Slow Going
You can probably tell that the updates and posts here at our blog have been pretty scarce lately. Well, after the Maui Photo Festival much of my free time has been behind the camera and in the digital darkroom as I feed my renewed shutterbug addiction. If you’re interested in seeing more of what I’ve been up to lately, head over to my photography site.

Never fear, though, our love for Maui is still as strong as ever. We’re excited to hear that the whales have arrived for their winter visit, and we’re targeting the end of November to lock down plans for our next one-week trip in February to see them again for ourselves.

Other Posts
Since there hasn’t been much here to read, I thought I’d add a few links that might help with your Maui fix.

• My reviews and photos from the ‘09 Maui Photo Festival
• A little insight into my experience at the Sunset Hula photo shoot
• Another great #MauiTweetup from October, courtesy of @jalove
• Some pumpkin picking at the Kula Country Farm thanks to A Maui Blog
• The official Maui Photo Festival 2009 group on Flickr

Mahalo, and enjoy,
- Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on September 18th, 2009
Location: Above Napili Bay in a helicopter (with the doors off)

This is one of the many awesome shots I took on the doors-off helicopter tour I took as part of the Maui Photo Festival not so long ago.  While we didn’t get to go as far south along the West Maui coastline as Ka’anapali (which would have been awesome), it was still a blast and well worth doing.

Here are a few Google maps to help show where this was taken.

Where did the week go?
Don’t ask me to account for my activities last week after we returned from Maui. It’s been such a losing battle trying to catch up with everything (except sleep, that is) that I can’t keep track of whether I’m coming or going.  I did make the promise to myself, however, that after next year’s Maui Photo Festival, I intend to take the following week off from work just to wrap up with everything I need to finish up from that.

Still to come
It hurts to even type up this list because I don’t have a good feel for when I can get to it all, but here it goes.  The following is a brief list of things I’m trying to get to in the coming weeks (in no particular order).

• Final trip journal entries from our most recent trip
• Adding new beaches and activity pages from both our February and September trips
• Update our trip details section to include a recap of this most recent trip, as well as plans for a week in February to see the whales
• Get back into the Aloha Friday groove, because I’ve gotten to meet so many cool Maui tweeps since the last time I posted one of those lists

I’m going to stop there, otherwise I might not publish this post altogether.

Mahalo nui loa for all of our loyal readers that have still stuck with us during this dormant period here at the blog. I promise, once I find what normal is and my life returns to some semblance of that, it will be well worth the wait.

Aloha,
- Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on June 4th, 2006
Location: Flying over Wailuku, Maui on a Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour.

This week’s Sunday Photo comes from the skies above Central Maui during our first helicopter tour above the Valley Isle back in 2006. I thought it would be a fitting choice for two reasons.

First, because I’m really excited about my next photo adventure in the sky coming up this Friday. I’m just 6 days away from a doors-off helicopter tour as part of the Maui Photo Festival this week, and one of the big selling points for me to work my butt off this summer to pay for a 2nd trip to Maui this year.

The second reason I thought it was a fitting choice was because, as I’m typing this, I’m currently 32,000 feet somewhere over the Midwest on our way back to Maui. And while I’m writing this on the plane, I’m actually connected to the Internet via the Gogo Inflight Internet Service on American Airlines. Talk about a long time coming, all these years messing around on my laptop during these long flights to and from the islands in the Pacific Ocean, and just now am I able browse the web in the process. The $9.95 price per flight might be a little steep (or not, compared to the price of airfare), but I wanted to give it a shot at least once.

Back to the photo, I always have fun looking at photos of Maui from either a plane or helicopter, trying to identify where above on the island it was taken.  My good old friend Google Maps usually is my first stop, and the map below help in part to solve this particular puzzle.

Following the same process, I was able to identify other neat places in my helicopter photos, such as Wailea in South Maui, the road along Hookipa Beach, cars parked at the Papawai Scenic Lookout, and even a distant shot of Haleakala National Park near the Oheo Gulch.

I can’t wait to go up again and get even more shots of the island we love. Not only do I now have 3 more years worth of photography experience now, I also will be flying with former Air Force aerial photographers. Too cool. Be sure to check back next weekend for the photos, as I’ll try to post them as fast as I can.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Related Links

• Details of our first Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tour
• Sunday Photo: Hidden Waterfall
• Workshops I’m thinking of attending for the Maui Photo Festival.
• More helicopter photos on Maui by Photo

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 23rd
Location: Along the road to Hana on East Maui

No real question about which road I’m referring to here. Although it doesn’t show the dramatic turns that those familiar with the road to Hana think of, I still think it’s a fun pic. Plus, it was a spur of the moment type shot where I pulled over and ran out in the middle of the street (maybe not the smartest idea).  I still remember Cindy shaking her head at me when I got back into the car.  I think her exact words were, “you’re nuts.”

The driving fan in me loves these types of drives, like the one up to Haleakala (although not the way back down) and the about half of the Kahekili Hwy drive around West Maui we started last trip. We’ll finish that someday.

There’s one place that we visit closer to home, up in Door County, WI, that reminds me of some of the stretches of road near Hana.  Whatca think (besides the snow)?

One Week Left
This time next week we’ll be on our 3-flight journey back to Maui, for a week of fun and the Maui Photo Festival at the Hyatt in Ka’anapali. It will be our 5th trip to the island, so I was thinking of doing a mini-series here at the blog this week, highlighting memories of our previous four visits to paradise. Be sure to look for those posts each day this week.

Also, in preparation for the festival, I grabbed some new camera gear and have been doing a few other things to get things ready. You can check out more details at my photography blog, as well as scope out more photos. Right now, I really should be out practicing with my new toys, so I’ll end this post with that.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Related Links

• Sunday Photo: A Winding Road
• The Road to Hana in 45 seconds
• The Road to Hana page at Maui by Photo
• A little of our Trip 5 plans
• Official site for the Maui Photo Festival and Workshops
• My almost completed todo list for the festival
• And for fun, a few snowy Door County photos (which I do miss, too, but not as much as Maui)

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 24th, 2009
Location: Oheo Gulch at Haleakala National State Park

Lots of good stuff this week, but let’s start with the photo. The shot above one of the photos I got soaked for when visiting the Oheo Gulch earlier this year. Regardless of the fact that my cell phone never recovered and we had to take a pass on our hike to Waimoku Falls along the Pipiwai Trails, I’m still pretty happy with the way it came out.

I know I’ve already said this quite a few times now, but spending the night in Hana and being able to make it out to the park before the majority of the crowds was a great idea. Highly recommended if you’re able to fit it into your vacation schedule.

Two Weeks to Takeoff
Now, onto the countdown to our next Maui trip. We leave in just two weeks, and just because we finally wrapped up all the travel arrangements, it doesn’t mean it’s just smooth sailing from here on out.

I posted some of our initial Trip 5 ideas already, and now it’s time to start making those reservations. There’s also a few omissions that I left out. First of all, Cindy wants to go parasailing. Yup, something she hasn’t been able to try the last few trips because of whale season. Me, I plan on tagging along just to snap some neat photos, but don’t have any desire to take the plunge.

I also mentioned last week that we wanted to make it out to Baldwin Beach near Paia, which we passed up on on our way back from Hana in February. Well, we hope to make it more than just a trip to the beach, and thanks to a post from Liza at A Maui Blog, I’m inspired to plan a longer visit to Paia that day. Read her post on why she loves Paia town to see some of the things we’re going to look into.

Gearing Up
Not forgetting the primary reason for this trip is to attend the Maui Photo Festival, I still have quite a few things to do in order to prepare for all the learning and shooting I’m going to be doing. I started this list over at my photography blog, and so far the only item I can cross off is the new gear I ordered from Adorama. It should be arriving this week, just in time to test it out for a bit before we leave.

As for the other items on that list, I hope to cross more of them off today, or early this week. As you can tell, there isn’t much time left. But, as seriously as I want to start taking my photography, I really do need to make more time for it on top of everything else I do on a weekly basis.

Sunday Photo #75
Lastly, it seems like only yesterday I was talking about my first Maui photo as the 50th edition in my Sunday Photo Series. Well, as fast as this summer has zipped by, I’m already up to #75 with today’s post. I like the feeling that I’ve been able to share all my favorite photos with all of you over these past two years, and am excited that I still have so many to post and more future trips to Maui that will allow me to continue sharing the Aloha for years to come.

Here’s to another 75!

Mahalo and Aloha,
- Kris